Pen and Paper
by mushimio92
Summary: Dear readers: please give this story a chance. Riza decides to learn alchemy, and Roy is teaching her. Many other characters would appear even though R and R are the leads Format would be slightly different from other stories so far Cheers; mushimio
1. Day 1 September

It seemed to be just an uneventful afternoon, in the office of the flame alchemist and his team.

For several hours now; it was the usual documents and reports which poured into the stuffy room.

And like always; soldiers who worked under the care of the colonel do their job efficiently and accurately.

As the piles of papers get lesser, an impending queer storm was approaching.

It starts with a simple question, a single unusually serious question…

"I'll like to learn alchemy…"

Was that an unusual question?

From a world where alchemist ruled same ranks of a scientist and biologist

Knowledge which tempts humans, power obtained close to Gods or 'beings'

So, why would a storm appear?

The answer lies with the human who had raised the question.

Our beloved and treasured, to the colonel and to the rest of the office;

….

Jean Havoc

26 September


	2. Falman

With that much paper work to be done that day, it was not a shock to us when we had to skip lunch.

We were fifteen minutes into lunch when a growl was heard from the table across mine

Eyes darted and I frowned, and it was no wonder why.

Breda sat, slouched with his chin on his table; looking pale as though he had not eaten in days.

I shook my head slightly before receiving a death glare as though he had been insulted,

Which was true, though the thought had never left my mind, ignoring was the best thing I could do.

My senses returned to those saddened documents and dictionaries lying around,

Was it just me? Work load seemed to have doubled ever since that day; the day when Amestris sky was painted grey with soot and dirt.

Presently, double had doubled itself; the reason was pretty clear;

I glanced quickly to the oak door behind the starving colleague, the lieutenant had not returned…

Clearing work was what the lieutenant does best, I thought slightly ashamed with myself

It was still clear as day, which we could never handle without her assistance.

The eyes lingered at the door for two more seconds, what could be so important that made the lieutenant to have a private talk with her superior out of the blue?

Another long groaning growl broke the trail of thoughts, giving an expressionless sigh; I turned to confront Breda.

"Go and have lunch, I can finish this."

Letting a smile appear on my face at the same time, his grateful smile was just fleeting as he dashed away with unbelievable energy.

'I guess sacrifice is unavoidable…' I thought silently and deeply.

As the pen scratched the first piece of document I could lay my hands on.

Valto Falman

26 September


	3. Riza

I found myself staring to the window right behind him,

Avoiding to my very best, into looking straight into his eyes;

From the corner of my eyes, his piercing look was scanning his subordinate carefully.

As though trying to figure out what I was thinking at the moment

Truthfully, it was nothing deep or sophisticated; I had that notion for quite some time now;

To learn alchemy, from the beginning; or better said – to accept alchemy.

Though it was much obvious that he would not buy such an innocent reason;

There I stood, in wonder what he would say in return to my request.

We were not alone…

The other person with us in that room was 2nd lieutenant Havoc.

Accident I might say, which results him being here as I asked my question.

Seconds later, I brought my line of sight back to my superior and at the same time, he raised an eye brow hesitantly before sighing deeply.

The colonel folded his arms and lean back comfortably,

"Alright."

He said finally, my breathe returned to my lungs as quickly as they had disappeared.

I saluted to him, though I lingered around for just a couple of minutes just as I watched Havoc retreating out from the colonel's office. The colonel spoke once again,

"Six O'clock, then."

'Huh?' I thought to myself quickly and anxiously, 'Today?'

No matter how prepared my mind was on learning alchemy, my heart was a little less enthusiastic…

Nonetheless, I will accept it. This is what Riza Hawkeye would do, what I would do.

"Yes, Sir!"

Riza Hawkeye

26 September


	4. Jean

Tap tap tap, a rhythmic tune which the pen was making as it made contact with the surface of my table,

Thoughts were still around the conversation between the lieutenant and the colonel earlier on,

My being there in the office at such a queer moment was indeed an accident,

It all started with a mistaken summon to the office by the colonel; and all the subsequent events which lead to the lieutenant involvement to clear the misunderstanding.

Thinking about it now, I was probably the cause of it all and it was something I had said, off handedly.

"Guns are really, not really useful any more. Alchemy could probably save more lives."

I could feel the temperature drop as I finished my sentence the true impact of that statement was with what the lieutenant said.

"I'll like to learn alchemy…"

She announced out of the blue. We could not help but stare at her, jaws fallen to the ground trying to convince ourselves that it was not her talking.

What I had said was to myself and I had no intention to bring the lieutenant down, since guns was her forte; my statement had hit her hard.

"Lieutenant, I was not talking about…"

"I know." Her words interrupted into mine, as cold and sharp as knives.

She threw me a small grimace before turning away to the colonel, who was silent throughout besides his occasional frowns.

"We have to get a teacher then…" He put forward calmly, at the same time I glared to his direction.

'He seemed so serious too, what is going on?'

"I'll like you to teach me…"

The colonel twitched, I could tell that he was not expecting those words… and neither was I.

"What?"

"What?"

We exclaimed those same thoughts around the same time, though my tone was slightly higher while the colonel was as dull as ever.

"Colonel Mustang; can you teach me?" She asked, even more seriously; ignoring our reactions altogether.

We spent the next few moments, looking from one another. I stood frozen and shocked. The lieutenant had never made such a sincere request before, I've known her for a while now, and this was not the usual woman I was familiar with.

"Alright." He said, causing me to ricochet slightly in my bones. 'He agreed to it!'

I noticed a wave of relieve emitting from the lieutenant, and also the eyes from the colonel peering in my direction. He was looking at me, with a pair of piercing dark eyes. They seemed to speak and I understood his meaning immediately.

After all, I had associated myself with him for years and I do get that stare many times before.

'Get out please' Was what he meant.

Without cue, I saluted to my superior and backed out from the office, closing the door quickly before spinning around; realizing that Falman was looking curiously in my direction. I waved him down, trying to avoid question as I took my seat.

And so this is where I am, rooted to my seat; tapping on the table with my pen along with thoughts repeating in my mind.

I threw the pen in frustration across the table, it made contact with the arm of another colleague seating just opposite me.

He glanced at me, and so did I…

'Agrh!' I muttered deep inside, 'What is wrong with me?'

No doubt, I was guilty. Was It truly something that I had said?

Jean Havoc

26 September


	5. Roy

"I'm sorry; it has always been this way…" I muttered quickly, as I pushed the pile of clothes off the chairs and papers away from the dining table.

She stood hesitantly at the door, as though frightened to enter. I was through the last pile of trash and miscellaneous items before glancing in her direction.

"Come in…" I said, stopping half way feeling similar to someone with evil intentions instead. I shook those strange thoughts out from my mind and grimace slightly.

She seemed to have caught the uneasiness written on my face, encouraged her to take the first step into my home or apartment.

I made my way to the small kitchen, at the same time noticing her moving across the living room slowly towards the dining table nearby.

There was hardly anything to eat; tea bags were all I had left.

When I returned with two cups of tea on the serving tray, she was peering at me with such a curious and deeming look which caused me to speak.

"I will get something more appetizing later; this is all I have for now."

She raised an eye brow, and peered at the tea cups for just a second before letting on a small smile

"Don't worry about it."

I sat across her, and sipped a little from my own tea cup; she did the same.

We were looking at each other for thirty seconds before she cleared her throat importantly, her sudden noise woke me from a certain trance I was feeling.

"Well, we should start with the basics of alchemy." I said smoothly, hoping to get myself back onto the right track.

I left my seat, in order to get a book from the shelf nearby. _The basics and fundamentals of Alchemy Part 1 – Riesvert Theo. _

It was a brown hard cover book, which was incidentally the first material I had purchased when I had started studying Alchemy. 

"It will be easier for you, if you read through chapter 1 and 2 first. It is important to get the theories right first."

I instructed, as though I was a real professional in teaching someone alchemy and was feeling slightly satisfied at my words when a soft uncertain voice whispered.

"I can't understand this…" She peered at me, and I glanced back to her and also to the paragraph she had read.

'This is easy! Everyone should be able to understand this.' Was what I wanted to say, however I swallowed them hurriedly when I met her eyes…

I was not an expert from the start either, saying something as irresponsible as that was not something I could live with.

"Don't worry about it, this simply means that basic elements are derived from compounds…."

Little did I know, that teaching was not exactly and probably never my forte…

Roy Mustang

26 September


	6. Day 5 September

Glancing to the grandfather clock nearby, I rubbed my nose thoughtfully.

It was 10am, and yet they had not entered the office.

I glanced to my colleagues and back to new reports that was piling onto my desk,

There was no choice but to chase those curious thoughts to the back to my mind.

Where were the colonel and the lieutenant today?

"2nd lieutenant, do you know…"

"No." he replied as quickly as I had asked my question and colder too.

Havoc seemed to be normal on the outside however I noticed that he was turning to light shade of blue, showing obviously that he was nervous about something.

It was a high chance that the 2nd lieutenant knew something about the missing soldiers.

And being the person he is, he will get to the bottom of this issue.

Just like how he became involved, by a frustrated pen which flew in his direction five days earlier.

That was the defining moment when he realized something odd was surrounding his superiors.

**Kain Fuery **

**30****th**** September**

"Colonel! Wake up!" I said, in a half stern and half defeated tone.

I had been shaking his sleeping figure for almost fifteen seconds now, and all he had managed to say was a fatigue loud grown.

We were currently, in the colonel's apartment; and we were running late for work. Bad news; I was nowhere closer in waking my superior.

"Come on, please get up!" I found myself begging him to wake, out of desperation.

His head was resting on my chest, and I was not comfortable with that position and yet I was not pulling away from him, still; this was not time to wonder about the reasons for my actions.

"Colonel!" I shouted by his ear which caused him to flinch badly and in turn jumped in his skin. I seemed to have shocked him…

He pulled away quickly, though sleepily, to my horror he was falling backwards. At the same time, he snapped awake from the gravity pulling him.

It was probably reflexes at that moment, his panicked arms grabbed hold on my shoulders.

we hit the ground pretty hard.

"I'm so sorry!" I said half anxious and loudly, as I pulled myself away from him.

However, I ended up looking at his face closely, every single detail…without knowing, that I was that close to him.

Did he have those dark eye bags before…?

…

It had been five days hasn't it, since the day I requested learning alchemy from him. We had been having private lessons at night till early morning. And it hadn't been easy; I have little affinity with alchemy…

Therefore I was the cause of his sleepiness and fatigue…

'No…'

**Riza Hawkeye **

**30****th**** September **


	7. Wavering

She landed on top of me and graced me with her tender eyes.

In a position which would certainly land us court marshaled

I waited patiently, with a heart beating way out of line as I gazed into her eyes however she avoided mine.

"I'm so sorry!" she said flustered and pink in the face, although her voice trailed away; her attention was on the features of my face.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and she jumped slightly.

"No…" she whispered to herself while shaking her head.

We pulled away from each other however she still refused to meet my gaze.

It was seconds later that she walked away silently to the kitchen while I sat there confused about her actions and behavior.

And her words: No?

Regardless, I dressed myself hurriedly seeing that I was so very late for work. No matter how I hasten my steps I would never be as fast as her.

"Let's go…" Was the only thing I got from her, her frame went away towards the corridor before I could turn around after locking up the door.

"Lieutenant…" I muttered under my breath as I saw the last of her shadow disappear down the stairs; I wonder what made her leave quietly and undeniably upset, she was surely burying her thoughts again…

I had not questioned her purpose in wanting to learn alchemy, even though I had a suspicion of her reasons nonetheless I did not desire for her to tell me the truth.

Instead I would go ahead and assist her towards her goal however her determination currently seemed to have diminished considerably.

'That silly girl', I told myself silently, she must be worried…

After all, she had that sense of responsibility which she held so proudly

That if she was forced to surrender it, in order to fulfill her own desires; conflictions would no doubly occur.

Her Heart and mind was an indeed a delicate balance…

**Roy Mustang **

**30****th**** September**


	8. Breda

Strange as it sounds, I was under my desk that morning; trying to fix a leg.

The desk had been unstable recently and it was disturbing my working spirit, not that I had work to do in the first place.

This was a good place to kill time, I said silently to no one in particular while stuffing a blue pen behind my ears as I peered between the joint of the leg and table surface.

It was at that moment, the main door opened, the corners of my eyes followed two shadows and their boots walking through the door. Judging by the way the first shadow moved; it was surely the lieutenant; true enough…

"Colonel, there is a meeting at 11am; down in Hall 3. Please make sure that you reach on time." She 'orders' the colonel with the usual strictness in her voice.

I held the conversation close to my ears, as I poked a couple of loose paper within the joint in the desk; it was their usual talk and I take it as quite an entertaining song usually.

"Lieutenant…"

The pen behind my ears slipped and hit the carpeted floor quietly, I shook my head quickly. A long and fast drop was felt in my stomach; I had never heard the colonel used that tone before. It was different from the person I knew, without knowing it I was crouching below the desk excitedly; as though I was about to hear a 'different' type of song today.

"Maybe we should stop here…" she interrupted emotionlessly through the colonel sentence, her tone cold as ice and sharp. I raised my eye brow curiously, 'Stop what?'

I watched with batted breathe as the 2nd shadow approached the first, they seemed to be quite close now. For a certain reason, my ears were getting hot and my blood began to rush in furiously.

But all I heard was whispers, just low and soft whispers. Slowly the shadow which belonged to the colonel moved away; while the lieutenant stood frozen to the spot.

I tried my best not to move or make a sound; the two would roast me alive if they knew I was eavesdropping on them.

"But why…?" I heard her ask, helpless or desperately, I did not know what to think about it.

"Trust me." The colonel answered, I could imagine a dashing smile after saying those comforting and faithful words.

Great! My face is turning warm now, could it be; that they were dating secretly which is causing the lieutenant to break under pressure and was wanting to break up with the colonel only to have him reject her request, all he did was tell her to trust him…?

Seconds later, the two shadows stride off towards the corridor, and I regained the ability to obtain air once more.

Only to be robbed by another voice coming from the table opposite to mine.

"The colonel is having an affair?"

I swore; my heart had jumped away and committed suicide somewhere else when the voice perked up. It was a perky and hyper energetic voice which belonged to the youngest member of our team.

"Kain! What are you doing under Falman's desk?" I hissed breathlessly. Only to have Kain grimace back at me,

"Falman's desk was also unstable I was trying to fix it…" his voice trailed away, as our gaze caught each other.

Apparently, the conversation we had heard was still fixed right into our mind…

"So…now, what…" I muttered, pondering our situation as I passed some spare paper to my colleague…

Kain licked his lips and folded his arms, "We have to save their relationship!" he announced happily and in a tone that was filled with unknown energy.

I could feel an ominous feeling rise from deep within me, what on earth; am I getting into this time?

**Breda Heymans**

**30****th**** September **


	9. That sunday night

From that day on, our practices had never gone our way.

It began with understanding, persuasion and she fell for my insistence.

I did not let up on daily lessons; my determination did not waver even if we had a busy or hectic morning that day.

One month went quickly and soon tall trees had lost their luscious green leaves, brown took their place as they pasted across the white marble courtyard.

The seasons may have changed; something else though had not changed; and that was the curious chemistry within the office of mine'.

Sunday night, I was stationed or yet, better described as camped out at her home. It was the first time, throughout thirteen years; I had ever seen the insides of her apartment.

To my expectations, the interior of his room was much cleaner then the grime of my own apartment; it had two rooms, the kitchen and his bedroom. Her bed 'room' consists of a desk that was next to the bed and a row of neatly arranged bookshelves. The ceiling and floor was dressed in lily white, and the furniture around me had a bold dark color.

"Strict…" I muttered under my breath.

The word came to my mind in that split second did not feel that new minutes later, the lieutenant as far as being a 'dedicated' solider had a strict personality. It was a part of her which did not changed even when we had grown up; probably even harder to get rid of after being involved in much country controversial events.

Without knowing, I was immersed within in my thoughts while she hastens to get cups of tea and sandwiches, I stood frozen to where she had left me. I was finally, in a woman's home. To me; it was an achievement.

She called out from her small kitchen, something about whether I wished to have egg or cheese sandwiches.

"Egg would be fine." I replied quickly, not wanting to delay her expectant reaction time of me. _There should be a knife somewhere in that kitchen. _

I settled to a chair next to the table while she sat opposite on her bed, it had a light scent of almonds and pheromones. A gently coaxing smell so tempting that almost cost me the purpose of my being there and of course; my life.

"So, shall we start!?" It was a sharp and sudden speech bubble that I had inserted through the relaxed atmosphere. She glanced at me silently above the rim of her tea she was drinking, with a look that I would not want to converse with, it might not mean much to others but it was a death stare she had emitted. She will never admit it, but I must have shocked her with the sudden loudness of my voice.

"Sorry" I muttered quickly before heaving a large thick green cover book to the rectangular shaped table, pulled out wads of paper and pen; a couple of 500ml bottled materials such as pebbles, sand, granite, grass, mud, bullets made from cooper cover, etc.

She leaned over in order to read the books and at that moment, her hair came so close to my own face; and I breathed in deeply. The almond scent was from her hair; I pinched the pages and to my better judgment pulled away quickly; hastily turning the book so that the words were upright to her end.

The lieutenant peered at the sudden reaction with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing and sat back down. It was a plain look on her face, not knowing what she had done to me at that particular second. I had to shake my brain to get me back into serious matters. _What the heck was wrong with me? _

"Colonel, is something wrong…?" She glanced at me, with a pair of light brown eyes. Those filled with question and concern, _I should not behave like this… _

I took a quick glance to the clock over the door way, minutes had been wasted over such mundane emotions; "Nothing, we should start with the basics again and work from there." I spat out, pointing my fingers over equations, meanings of Elisions fusion theories.

As the night drew on, I became slightly more tensed. Not knowing the rising emotions throughout my mind, I was reluctant to stay over.

It was two in the morning, she was still unable to transmute anything and it was obvious she was disheartened; despite my encouragements, there was much lingering sadness around her.

I stood at the door way as she held the door open, black Hayate; her charming protector with four legs; bounced awake from his sleep to send me off.

His black fur was short and smooth, I patted the little pup back and scratched the top of his head which meant good night and he tottered off back happily to his corner in the apartment.

"He is growing well…" I commented without many thoughts running by in my head at that moment, in fact my brain felt a little fuzzy.

"…I am sorry…" She replied softly, her mind was definitely not on the same page as my topic was. The lieutenant was very disappointed, even more than previous failures. "Maybe we should not do this further, I was not wrong to tell you this earlier…"

It was a moment of blur, what spurred me at the second she said that. I was in darkness, and it was because I had closed my eyes; but when I did open them again; the scene was mind blowing even to myself.

I was hugging the untouchable, it was neither a good bye hug nor a fleeting hug; instead it was a full deep and emotional embrace. I had my arms around her, and she had hers uncertainly around my waist.

I guessed she was feeling a little fuzzy as well; after all she had not pushed or killed me yet.

For the rest of the night, I was enshrouded with deep scent of almonds, her unique scent… we spent the night this way, just smell and touch. Not sight or sound.

Our consequences of that Sunday night was being late for office work on Monday morning.

We appeared to work together, and true to our expectation was the curious looks written on my other subordinate's face.

"Traffic?" Breda smirked as he examined our disheveled appearances.

Falman fell out from his chair again; Havoc leaned back into his chair; straighter than I had ever seen him, while Kain was in a state of awe. All their reactions happening at the same exact time.

That's right, the curious chemistry of my team.

**Roy Mustang**

**28th October **

_Hello, my friends. Sorry about the snail like updates on my stories; I have been really busy due to my work and also lack of inspirations these few months. So, this story is one of my favorite to write and it is because I still have control over the contents unlike my other works. Where it gets kind of messy due to the introduction of many other characters and stranger story lines; Well; it is common of my stories to be using the same content pulled out from others. Such as Lieutenant Hawkeye's love for almonds, etc. _

_I have been working on my sentence formation and sequencings, so I hope this chapter would be prove that I had done something worthwhile. Although, I still expect to have some mistakes. ^.^ _

_Thank you; to all my online darlings and friends who have kept such a close eye on my works. I really appreciate you and all your comments and I think I might need them a lot more in the future. It makes me happy to see your response to what I write, and I have a few quirks as well; such as my 'obsession' over Royai pairing and also my style changes. I apologize greatly to all those who hates the constant Royai-ing, I will try to bring in other characters from other shows into this fanfiction. _

_I would love to see, your recommendations; if you have any; if you want to see some characters being part of fanfiction; please do do do leave a comment. I am sure I will see them. _

_Lastly, stay happy and joyful always! No matter how bad the situation you seem to be in; you aren't the only one! Know that somewhere on the other side of the planet, there is someone going through the same thing! Do not ever give up darlings! _

_Love: Mushimio. _


	10. Thoughts

Thoughts 

"So you think that the colonel and the lieutenant are having a relationship?" I sniggered deeply from the bottom of my heart as I heard the 'astounding' news that was travelling around his office. Breda scratched a big cross on the scrap paper before leaning back in his chair apparently confused, Falman refused to hear about this issue leaving the most enthusiastic one of our group; jabbering excitedly – Kain Fuery.

"I am pretty sure, that is it. I mean they talked about something so secretive in the office and and they have been coming to office late. Where do you guys think they might have been?" Kain looked slightly annoyed at the lack of interest with his co companions. Breda looked even more confused; not knowing what to believe. Falman picked up the news paper nearby and began to read the top header of that morning while I had no much to say except giggle as I knew what the truth was and where our superiors had been all night. It was interesting to know how much Kain could imagine out of that brain of his, and I was not going spoil his mood. And that was when I had an idea and that was to join him.

"Well, maybe they have a relationship somewhere out of this office" I started carefully, trying to stay as vague as I could be. It was hard to stay a straight face when Falman began to peep over the top of the newspaper, and Breda losing the lost look in his eyes. They were hanging on my every word, Kain eyes gleamed as though he had found treasure.

"I told you, I told you; it's true! Havoc believes me!" He exclaimed happily, jumping up and down like a puppy. Unconsciously I rubbed the top of my head; that was when I noticed Breda having one of his eyebrows raised suspiciously. Yeah, I am not very good with lies; Breda would know i tend to rub my hair when i do however it was very much enjoyable to see them so interested therefore I am going to let out a little bit more.

"You see, I did see them leave the office together quite a number of times." Falman dropped his newspaper while Kain looked as though his heart was about to somersault out from his body; Breda refused to remove his suspicious gaze from me not even for a minute. I felt a little disgruntled but it was not like me to leave information hanging; I grabbed my cup of green tea which the lieutenant graciously gave me a while back and settled into my chair as though I was preparing to tell children an bed time story.

"Three days ago, I saw the lieutenant taking the colonel's car; It seemed to me that she was less than happy to be near the colonel, she might be angry at him." I was smacking my lips happily, _well; the colonel and the lieutenant would probably not know about this so I guess a little spinning of tales would be just alright. _At that particular moment, Breda jabbed into my words; he was already in his own chair sitting opposite to me with his arms and legs folded so strictly as though we are going to have a debate.

"We all know that the lieutenant is not a person to take favors from anyone, especially not from the colonel; maybe that's why she isn't so happy to get into his car." He said, shrugging his shoulders to my annoyance. The more he said those words with an unimpressed tone the more I had to prove my story telling abilities.

Kain looked in my direction and back to Breda, he was not unraveled by our words instead he was more and more entailed in my stories. Falman was still hanging onto my words; his newspaper was lying on his lap and his fingers still between the pages.

"If I am not wrong, I saw the colonel having his arms around the lieutenant just yesterday." I said, though I should have been more careful as a second later; I had tea sprayed onto my face. Kain was drinking his tea and in his excitement and my misfortune; I had led him feeling overly thrilled with my words. "Kain!" I shouted in my disgust, and walked hurriedly away to the pantry to get some paper towels.

"Ah! I am so sorry, Lieutenant Havoc!" Kain shouted out almost immediately as he followed to see if I was okay; Falman and Breda exchanged a knowing look, he pointed to the tea bag and then to Falman indicating if he wanted more tea. The two came tottering into the pantry, to my utter embarrassment. It was very and highly unusual for four grown solders to be squeezed uncomfortably into a pantry and it being a small space in all does not make reality any nicer.

We were in the process of shoving each others' body parts away from one another when we heard the main door slam hard against the hinges; accompanying the loud noise were even louder voices; the very two which belonged to our superiors.

"I told you, I can't do it!" It was a sobbing voice of our lady boss; I mean the lieutenant. She seemed to be very agitated and that was not a common sight to hear from her.

"If you try to keep an open mind, I am sure you can accept…" the Colonel was trying to persuade her about something, was it about alchemy? But how would that make the lieutenant cry? She is not an easy person to tear up; it must be something serious…

"It is not possible. So let us stop here, please?"

I could not breathe, but that was because Breda was choking my throat since he was pressed up against my front. "Get off of me!" I hissed to him highly annoyed, Kain on the other hand had his ear very close to the door, hoping to catch every single word. "Why don't you shift your* to another end?" Breda hissed back, he whacked his fist onto my head, Falman sighed behind us. We were all interested in their conversation but due to our scuffing, all we heard when some rustlings of clothes and a small sob. They footsteps began to walk away to the inner rooms i believe while kain looked very very disappointed.

After assuring that we would be safe, Falman unlocked the pantry door and it felt as though we lived again. The air was extremely stuffy in that room, the fresh air from the outside world was a miracle medicine, I turned around to look at Breda and Falman, and both seemed to be rather red in the face and seemed to be quite shocked by what they heard. The youngest of us on the other hand, was more bristled rather.

"If it was quieter in the pantry, we would have heard so much more…" He said forcefully, glancing at me in a way, that made me feel uncomfortable and unfair, _was kain trying to lecture me? _I caught Breda's eyes and they had the same expression as mine, _was Kain trying to lecture us? _He walked away from us, Falman seemed to be enjoying the show, he had not said much nor do much all this while.

Time passed by extraordinarily slow that day, we were dragging by not doing our work, taking long breaks to the bathroom, staring into blank space, doodling onto some blank scraps of paper. I did not speak to them that morning; my own mind was reeling from the information of what I heard. The lieutenant sounded desperate, the colonel sounded desperate not to let her feel so desperate. _What was going on? _

Finally, it was a quarter to twelve; it was time for a long awaited lunch and energy booster we all need; I peered at the inner rooms; they were in there for such a long time. We heard nothing, no noises or words; there was nothing to tell us there were people in that room.

Falman sighed audibly as we headed out through the door; the rest of us peered at him curiously. "We should ask them what is happening…"

"Ask who what?" replied another voice which was not any of ours, right outside the door preparing to come in was the colonel and behind him was the lieutenant.

_What! That was strange! I can't believe this is happening… what on earth happened…? _

**Jean Havoc**

**4****th**** November**


End file.
